Gus Poyet has challenged his players to force their way into the team for the season’s opener against Doncaster.

The Seagulls launch their pre-season programme away to Burgess Hill at Leylands Park tomorrow (1.00).

They also face two other non-league sides, Horsham and Whitehawk, before heading to Portugal where they play Paris St Germain, Olhenense and the first of two games against Tottenham.

Poyet insists the early games are all about match fitness, which is why he will field different teams in each half against the Hillians.

However, the Albion boss has also made it clear players who shine will give themselves a chance of featuring in the first league game on August 6.

Two players who will get a chance to promote their own credentials are young centre-backs Steve Cook and Grant Hall who will feature tomorrow as well as for the development squad at Havant and Waterlooville today.

Poyet said: “The competition (for places) is open. The players know where they stand. They know themselves if they have more chance of playing or not but everything can change in one minute, one game, one session of training.

“As an example, last year we started without (Kazenga) LuaLua and we were limping a little bit on one side. We tried a couple of sessions at the training ground with Jamie Smith wide on the left and he was outstanding so we started the season with Jamie out on the left.

“He really helped us a lot which shows if you perform and you do well when you have to you have a chance.”

Poyet will unveil summer purchases Craig Mackail-Smith, Will Buckley and Will Hoskins at Leylands Park.

Other new faces will follow before the squad leave for Portugal next weekend with Poyet chasing another striker, at least one more midfielder and another central defender with Adam El-Abd and Tommy Elphick sidelined through injury, He said: “In the next week before we go to Portugal we are going to get another two or three, for sure. That will make the squad even better. The other two or three will depend on the deals. We need to make sure we get these two or three extra before the trip.

“Everybody knows we are struggling with the centre-halves. There are a couple of players in the development group last year who are getting very close to the first team like Cook and Hall who are going to be playing.

“They will be involved on Sunday.”

Poyet admits tomorrow will provide a great opportunity for fans to see the likes of Mackail-Smith, Buckley and Hoskins in an Albion shirt for the first time and hopes there will be a big crowd at Burgess Hill.

However, he has also told supporters not to expect too much too soon from the new boys.

He said: “These games are all about fitness, nothing else.

“We trained very hard on Friday morning, we trained again on Friday afternoon and will train really hard again on Saturday so I don’t think they are going to be fresh to play at their best. For me, it is about going out and doing the basics.

“The game is good for us and good for Burgess Hill. There will be two or 3,000 people there and it will be nice to see for the first time the new players on the pitch in a Brighton shirt.”